


Doki Doki Lovecraft Club

by StarfighterStories



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Explicit Language, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lovecraftian, Multi, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:47:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24856315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarfighterStories/pseuds/StarfighterStories
Summary: In an alternate 1970s, Libitina University is thriving, home to students from around the world. During the day, it’s a normal school but at night things take a sinister turn. Students are plagued by nightmares, strange creatures lurk in the shadows and the nearby military base is the subject of many rumors. Nothing is as it seems, and the members of the literature club soon learn that monsters can be found in the day and at night and the most horrifying things in this world are what we do to one another.
Kudos: 1





	Doki Doki Lovecraft Club

Chapter 1

We've Been Here Before

We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far–H.P. Lovecraft.

…

Jomei blinked as he squinted at the options on the jukebox, running his thumb along the edges of the silver coin that he held in his fingers before flipping it up into the air and catching the coin as it fell back down to earth, slapping it onto the top of his hand to find that the coin had landed on tails.

"A-1 it is." He said dryly before punching the selection into the jukebox before walking back to the booth on the far side of the room, cursing as he almost dropped the thick leather-bound book tucked underneath his arm.

The Stardust Diner was built during the 60s, a place where American soldiers on their way to Vietnam could go to get a little taste of home. It had also become a popular hangout for the local university students looking for a midnight snack, or a place to think.

As Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell started to play, he sat down and slid over to the window watching as the rain poured down outside and the howling wind rattled the windows and made the trees flex and bend.

Jomei hefted the leather-bound book onto the table and opened it up to the table of contents, the iridescent edges of the pages shimmered in the flickering lights of the diner before they went out completely, the staff in the kitchen muttering in concern before the lights came back on.

The sound of heels clicking against the linoleum floor signaled the arrival of the waitress. Her candy apple red uniform was accented with streaks of white and her hair was tied up in a bun that was just starting to come undone

"Evening." She said with a smile. "How's your day going?"

"It's been a long day, happy it's over." He told her, trying to hide his exhaustion.

"Ah I can tell, you got that look in your eyes…hey have we met before?" She said pulling out a pen and paper.

"I don't think so no," Jomei replied, shaking his head.

"I guess you just got one of those faces, anyway, can I get anything started for you?"

"Just a strawberry milkshake for now, and some fries."

"You got it." She said quickly jotting down the order as the lights flickered again.

"Ugh, I'm sorry I don't know what's going on with the power. We've had storms worse than this and the lights never flickered." She said as she pocketed the pen and paper. "I'll have that right out for you."

"It's ok. Thank you." Jomei said as he went back to scanning the table of contents, his eyes focusing on one section in particular.

When you feel like giving up

He quickly flipped to the marked page and started to read. The simple and neat handwriting instantly recognizable.

Hey,

Things must not be going well if you are reading this.

Maybe something happened to Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki, or even me.

I've had to watch all of them die at some point, eventually, I stopped writing down what happened and why. Sure, it made things harder but…I wanted to forget.

If that's why you're thinking about giving up, I want you to take a deep breath.

Whatever happened, it's not your fault.

Jomei scoffed and shook his head.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

If we were there with you now, I promise we wouldn't be angry with you

I know I wouldn't because I've been in your position before

I know you're tired

I know you're heartbroken

I know you're scared

But you can't give up.

You wanna know why?

Turn the page.

Jomei took a deep breath as he advanced to the next page, where the next two pages were filled with polaroids of the literature club and its members.

One picture showed Monika at the front of the literature club room, reciting one of her poems. In the corner of the picture Jomei could make out the top of Natsuki's head, her bright pink hair and the small red ribbons held up her two pigtails. Monika herself wasn't framed very well, and her green eyes were fixed on the photographer, a small smile appearing on her face.

The next picture showed Sayori talking to Jomei, completely absorbed in conversation. Their poems for the day laid out in front of them, tiny corrections and suggestions could be seen written in red ink. A pang of guilt rang in Jomei's chest when he noticed how bored he looked.

Another picture showed Natsuki holding a plate filled with cupcakes, watching Yuri carefully as the purple-haired girl brought one of the cupcakes up to her mouth. Just as she had opened her mouth to take a bite, Monika took the picture, explaining the alarmed looked in Yuri's eyes.

The third picture showed Yuri by herself, sitting at her desk by the window, completely entranced by one of her favorite books: The Portrait of Markov. The late afternoon light and cherry blossoms that were blooming in the courtyard made her look almost angelic. The picture itself had a calming effect.

Just like Yuri.

The final picture showed all of them together, right after the school culture festival. Sayori was in the center of the picture, having pulled Jomei and Natsuki into a tight embrace. Jomei snickered at the bewildered expression on his face and Natsuki's bright red cheeks. He could tell she was trying to be angry but couldn't bring herself to yell at Sayori. Next to Natsuki was Yuri who was the only one trying to take a normal picture, smiling politely with her hands tucked behind her back. Opposite of her was Monika, who leaning back against the desk behind her. Smirking while she had a thumb pointed at the rest of the group like she was saying: See what I have to put up with?

The festival had happened only six months ago. Sure, it hadn't been the smash hit they were all hoping for, but it made them all realize how much the club meant to them, and how much they meant to each other.

Jomei sighed wistfully as the waitress returned with his order, setting the basket of fires down alongside his milkshake before she pointed to one of the polaroid pictures with her pen.

"Friends of yours?" She asked.

"Yeah, my best friends."

She smiled.

"Sounds like you all are awfully close."

Jomei shut his eyes, trying to hold back tears and hide the pain in his voice.

"We were."

The waitress frowned.

"Were?"

"Yeah, something…bad happened."

"Think you can fix it?" The waitress said, raising an eyebrow.

Jomei grinned.

"I'm certainly gonna try."

The waitress smirked.

"Well if you need any advice on the female mind, give me a holler."

"Thank you, miss," Jomei said with a nod before looking back to his book as the lights flickered again.

I know you didn't ask for this

No one would, but you can do this.

I believe in you.

You have everything you need

Yours Truly,

Monika

Jomei flipped forward to the sections of the book that he had become familiar with over the past few months, sipping on his milkshake as he did so.

Part of him hoped that if he read this all again, he would somehow be able to keep his memories intact but by now, he knew that wasn't possible.

Yuri's favorite books: The Silent Cry, The Terrifying Tales of Edgar Allen Poe, The Portrait of Markov.

Sayori's favorite snacks: Poky Sticks, Pomegranates, Swedish Fish

Natsuki's favorite songs: Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra, The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie

Monika's favorite movies: Star Wars, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Alien

As the lights flickered again, he heard the diner staff groan in confusion, and in the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of headlights pull into the diner parking lot. Jomei's eyes darted to his nearly empty basket of fries, and then to the journal, realizing he had unintentionally turned to the next page.

A list of people you can trust

What to do when you think you are being followed

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline

He took a shaky breath as he saw some shadowy figures step out of the car and start walking to the diner entrance. Slowly and deliberately, he closed the journal before getting up and slipping into the men's bathroom as the front door opened, a bell ringing to signal the arrival of the enemy.

"Good evening gentleman! How can I help you?"

The conversation switched to English, going so fast he could only make out a few words here and there. Rather than trying to piece the conversation together, he quickly locked himself into the nearest stall. His hands trembling as he reached for his wristwatch as the lights went out again.

He shut his eyes, trying to control his breathing as he recalled the lessons from the final parts of the journal.

How to treat a gunshot wound

How to make a Molotov cocktail

How to use a gun

How to hide a body

The voices from outside were closer now. The waitress's voice quickly cut in, her tone of voice alone telling him she was suspicious of the new arrivals.

Their tone became quickly became hostile, and a new male voice cut in. The exchange continued as the lights struggled to come back on before plunging the room back into darkness as the argument continued before Jomei caught a word he recognized.

"…Bathroom!"

"No! You will not- "The waitress snapped before a scream ripped through the air before a dozen gunshots rang out, echoing through the diner and drowning out the pleads of the rest of the diner staff.

"Fuck!" Jomei hissed, moving his fingers to his watch as air raid sirens could be heard in the distance. Their wails barely punching through the storm that was raging outside.

I'm too late. Jomei thought as the door to the bathroom slowly opened, pressing the two buttons on either side of his watch. The wires that were strapped to the wristband started to spark and glow and the face of the watch started to glow red.

The sound of the bathroom stall doors being slowly opened nearby made him curse under his breath as the lights flickered back on.

Come on come on.

The door to Jomei's stall groaned as someone pushed on it.

"Jomei? I know you're in there." A voice said from the other side of the door. The numbers on the watch face were replaced by a series of symbols he did not recognize but they were changing by the second.

The watches mechanical components were starting to vibrate and the heat emitting from it was starting to burn the back of his wrist, the lights in the bathroom got brighter, so bright it hurt to look at them for more than a few seconds.

"We just want the watch kid, that's all we want." The voice pleaded as Jomei felt his memories start to fade, the warmth and strength of those memories had steeled his nerves until this moment. Now, he felt like his legs were about to give out. His hands were tremoring, but he kept hold of the buttons on the watch.

In the center of the watch was a glassy black eye with a red pupil growing out of the surface of the watch, phasing right through the glass, a blackened optical nerve forming underneath it as it rose.

It's gaze fixated squarely on him.

The heat emitting from the watch made it feel like someone was pressing a hot red poker against his skin. Jomei bit down on his tongue to keep himself from crying out, knowing he couldn't let the enemy know what he was doing.

"I'm sorry about your friends I really am." The voice said, as the sound of them unclipping their gun holster echoed through the bathroom like he had just dropped a bowling ball.

Sorry? It's your fault their all dead. Jomei thought, tears forming in his eyes as the last of his happy memories were stripped away from him, leaving him to confront what remained. What had happened before, and what might happen again.

Yuri died in his arms, surrounded by pages of bloodstained poetry. Her poetry. She had tried to leave him with some confronting words as she bled to death while he frantically called for help, but she ended up passing on before she finished.

Natsuki died right before his eyes, reaching for him with tears streaking down her face before her neck was snapped and she was dragged off into the woods, leaving one of her red ribbons behind in the fresh snowfall. It was that was left of her the next morning.

Sayori had died alone, clawing at her makeshift noose in a last desperate attempt to fight against the darkness that had taken up residence in her mind. It had been raining all week up until the night she died. When he found her that morning, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Nothing had made him so angry before…or since. At the funeral, her parents asked him how he had missed the warning signs.

To this day, he had no answer.

Monika was the only one who was still alive, at least that's what he told himself so he could sleep at night. It didn't change what he had said to her the last time they saw each other before she had gone missing.

Why don't you trust me?! Let me help you!

It's because I hate you! I hate you for dragging me into this! I wish I had never met you!

How he hated himself for saying that.

"I almost feel sorry for you, you don't know how the world works yet. You were toying with something you don't understand. Did you really think this was gonna end any other way kid?"

Jomei scowled as tendrils of shadow sprouted from the watch, coiling around his arm. The little eye that had sprouted from the watch was the size of grapefruit now, still staring at him almost expectantly. He looked up at the door as grimaced as the smell of burning flesh wafted into his nose.

"It's not over…not yet." He managed through gritted teeth.

"Fucking shit!" The man snarled before the sound of two gunshots temporarily deafened Jomei, making him jump as he squeezed his eyes shut as the lights in the bathroom exploded in a shower of sparks, and the sound of the air raid sirens slowed, sounding less like an alarm and more like a funeral dirge.

Jomei opened his eyes and saw two bullets, stopped in midflight, floating inches from his chest. The eye that had emerged from the watch was now the size of a watermelon and glowed white, its form highlighted by a black aura like it was in a photonegative picture.

The pupil expanded and started sucking all the color out of the room, showing Jomei images of his time with the literature club but as these memories were shown to him, he forgot them entirely.

A sense of dread filled his being like his brain realized what was happening and was desperately trying to retain any information it could.

Baking with Natsuki.

Reading with Yuri.

Walking home from class with Sayori.

Playing with piano with Monika.

The harder he tried to hold onto these moments, the faster they slipped away. The images turning to black and white before evaporating, like a piece of damaged film in a projector. The images of the girl's deaths came next, but instead of turning black and white, the images were tinted a bloody red.

Jomei shut his eyes and looked away, but the images of his friend's lifeless mangled bodies filled still found themselves seared into his corneas. Then he heard them screaming and crying, at first individually but then their voices started to overlap with one another until they became a hellish cacophony, mashed together with the slow drone of the air raid's sirens outside which had slowly been getting louder and louder.

That's when he felt himself get grabbed by something, his eyes shot open to see nine black tentacles of shadow had grabbed him and then with one forceful pull, yanked him straight into The Eye's pupil, now the size of a small car.

He found himself falling feet first through utter blackness before he noticed that his lower torso was being stretched out, at first by several inches but seconds later it was by several feet at a time. Then he suddenly stopped in place, his body snapping back to its regular proportions like a rubber band.

He was left floating in a black void for several minutes as the light started to return.

A blue and orange nebula could be seen forming around him as if someone or something was using a dimmer switch to bring light back to the universe. He turned around to see The Eye looming above him at the summit of the gas clouds, its pupil still fixated on him.

Then an invisible force struck him the chest, like someone twice his size had just knocked the wind out him. He flew backward as he noticed that he was leaving behind copies of himself as he flew.

They looked like line drawings of him, thin black lines made up his silhouette and finer features, but the rest of his body was filled in with one color. The first copy with cyan, the next magenta, and the third was bright yellow.

His own body had lost all its color, having become practically transparent. The Eye hummed as one of the nebula's towering gas clouds turned black and stretched out into a tentacle before it shot toward him, stabbing him in the chest and pulling him forward through each of the clones, each of them shattering like they were made of glass as he collided with them before he was brought back into the searing red pupil of The Eye once more, but this time, there was nothing on the other side.

…

Jomei gasped and sat up in bed, clutching his chest. His forehead beaded with sweat. Shakily he reached over and opened up the window next to his bed, hoping the fresh morning air would help him calm down.

"Nightmares again?" His roommate, Kyuso, looking over from his bed

"Yeah…" Jomei said breathlessly.

"You wanna talk about it?" Kyuso said, closing his book and turning to face him.

Jomei shook his head.

"I can't even remember what happened to be honest."

"Ah, that sucks. I'm sorry man. Well if you remember something and you need to talk, just let me know." Kyuso began before reaching over to grab something on his nightstand. "Oh, before I forget, your friend Monika stopped by a little while ago. She wanted to give this to you."

He held in his hands a thick brown leather-bound book with a blue box strapped to it. Jomei took it with a confused look on his face while Kyuso wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Told you she's into you man." He teased.

"I doubt it's that simple," Jomei said rolling his eyes as he opened the top drawer of his nightstand.

"Must you be so cynical? Is it really so inconceivable that a girl is interested in you?" Kyuso said as his roommate flipped open his pocketknife and cut the red twine that kept the box secured to the book.

"Actually yes, it is," Jomei said before setting the blue box aside when he saw the sticky note strapped to the front of the book that said: READ ME!

Jomei opened the book up to see a very lengthy table of contents, filled out by hand using several different colors of ink. At the top of the page, he noticed a short author's note that had been underlined several times.

"What does it say? Is it a confession of undying love?" Kyuso said impatiently.

"I'm reading it now," Jomei told him, putting his glasses on before fixing his gaze on the author's note.

Hey Jomei,

This is gonna sound crazy, but you have to trust me ok?

This isn't the first time you've read this note.

This isn't your first time waking up for your first day of fall semester.

Something…or someone is trying to hurt us. Me, you, Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri.

Over the next few months, things are going to get worse and worse.

When I realized what was going on, I started looking into it.

I realized it wasn't just us.

Everyone at our school is in danger.

Unless we can figure out what was going on, we'll never be safe.

We have to stop whoever or whatever is behind all this, somehow.

When I was trying to solve this on my own, I ended up coming into possession of a watch.

A watch that lets me turn back time.

Back to the day when it all started.

So, I tried to make things right.

I tried hundreds of times.

I would have tried a hundred more but then, something happened.

They, the bad guys, figured out that I had the watch.

They tried to take it from me, but I managed to escape and reset to today.

Now I'm passing my mission onto you.

I want you to help me stop them.

I've convinced you this is all real before, so let me do it again.

I know you better than you realize.

I know how your mom made a movie with a Super 8mm camera, showing your family at your favorite amusement outside of Tokyo, for your baby brother. After she miscarried, on some nights, you found her in the garage. Watching that movie on loop.

I know how your dad wrote a poem about you after you were born, and how your mom and grandmother cried after they read it. I know how you keep it in your coat pocket to keep you going when things get hard.

I know how your roommate's most prized possession is a vintage copy of Astounding Tales that his Dad gave him, which has the short story A Shadow out of Time in it, by H.P Lovecraft.

I know all this because we've been here before.

I'm hoping this will be the last time though.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions.

I would love to help but I'm afraid I won't be able to do much at first since I won't be able to remember writing any of this.

Use this book as much as you can, it is the most important weapon you have. It's the best I can do to help you. At least at the start. I do have some tips that have helped me a lot.

Write down what you learn with the pen, it's…special, I can't explain it but if you use the pen, the things you write down will stay written down in the book in between the resets.

If you're in trouble or something bad has happened, you can use the watch to reset to today. You won't remember anything, but it'll give you another chance to fix things.

The only other piece of advice I have is please please please stay safe. If something happens to you, we don't get any more second chances. Only reset if you know you are safe, it's not instantaneous.

I hope you can find what I missed and set things right.

Remember, you're not alone in this.

You've got us.

I'll see you at the Literature Club!

Yours Truly,

Monika

Joesi's mind was running at a mile a minute.

There's no way Monika could have known that stuff about his family.

…Right?

He slowly turned to his roommate, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Hey, …what are you reading?"

"It's an old magazine that I liked to read when I was a kid. Dad gave it to me before I moved here. It's got this story in it called The Shadow out of Time."

Jomei was struggling to hide his shock.

"What happens in it?"

"Well, this guy starts having these really weird dreams of creatures and places that he's never seen before. At first, he thinks he's going insane but it turns out he got possessed by aliens that can project their minds into other creatures. They use their to time travel and record the pasts and futures of other civilizations. When he finds that out, he almost goes insane for real."

"Well, that's fuckin grim." Jomei huffed.

"That's Lovecraft for you," Kyuso said with a shrug. "You sure you're ok? You look like you've seen a ghost." He continued, eyebrow raised as Jomei opened up the blue box to find a dark green fountain pen, engraved with golden octopus tentacles and a bulky looking wristwatch. Thick brown leather strap covered in copper wire, with silver detailing. When Jomei touched the metal with his fingertips, it was cold as ice.

A chill went up Jomei's spine as Kyuso waved at him.

"Earth to Jomei? Come in Jomei. You good man?" His roommate said as he picked the watch up, examining it with trepidation.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Jomei replied before he put the watch back in the box and put it on his nightstand, shaking his head as he did so.

Sayori must have told her about my mom and dad, she's been my best friend since elementary school so she's the only one who could have told her any of that stuff. Plus, Monika had dropped off the book a little while ago. She must have seen what Kyuso was reading and thrown that in. He thought as he got out of bed, ready to start the day.

He had a lot to do, and he didn't have any time for Monika's crazy prank.

A wristwatch that lets you travel through time.

Now that is an astounding tale.

Jomei had half the mind to write the idea down and turn it into a short story himself.


End file.
